Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra has been in Windsor for the past two days speaking to municipal leaders and local businesses to assess the damages brought about because of the recent blockades of the Ambassador Bridge.
This morning he visited Select Tool Automation in Old Castle, along with Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk.
Alghabra says it was important to hear the first hand experience of people impacted by the blockade.
"The illegal blockade that happened just over a week ago in Windsor has caused significant damage to Windsor's economy, in fact the region's economy and to the country's economy. It had an impact on businesses, on workers. I wanted to come by and be the first federal minister to reach out."
In his discussions during this trip, Alghabra says there was a consensus reached about the blockade and its impact.
"That these blockades should never have happened, and should never happen again. That the impact they caused was felt by everyone, it caused a lot of anxiety, it caused job losses. We all agreed that we all work together, especially at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, to ensure it never happens again."
With tensions related to the blockades and protests still being felt throughout the country, Alghabra was asked how he would speak to someone who disagrees with the government on these issues.
He says there are all kinds of people who were sympathetic to the protests, and others who are tired of pandemic restrictions, which he understands.
But Alghabra hopes that most Canadians will continue to be there for one another until the pandemic begins to wane for good.
"There's need for more and more of these conversations, but there are another group of people that have been feeding on misinformation or disinformation that is out there. They believe in conspiracy theories and have lost faith in institutions, and that we need to have a national conversation about. What do we need to do."
Alghabra says it's important for everyone to remain vigilant and willing to engage in constructive and positive dialogue about moving forward to avoid inflaming the issue any further and avoid anymore disruptions to cities or important trade routes.
- with files from Rob Hindi